Hi Everybody,

Nine birders and leader Wayne Bell arrived at the private drive into 
Andelot Farms west of Worton around 7:40 AM. The weather on Sunday was 
pleasant, but variable, as we contended with some cloudiness, wind that 
silenced birds at times, and just a few raindrops. Andelot was in good 
form in spite of rather few migrants in the mix. We located 77 species 
on the property until we left in the early afternoon (see the appended 
list).

Highlights of the day included a latish Sharp-shinned Hawk flying 
overhead carrying prey, Kentucky Warbler, a female Yellow-throated 
Warbler carrying food to a hidden nest high in a loblolly pine, a 
furtive Gray-cheeked Thrush, a singing Canada Warbler, three latish 
young male Yellow-rumped Warblers, several rough-winged swallows, a 
singing Yellow-breasted Chat that kindly allowed us to watch him through 
the telescope, and 4 female Bobolinks in an oat field. Wildflowers were 
also nice including columbine, violet wood-sorrel, and blue salvia. 
Wayne also saw a Delmarva fox squirrel run across the road next to the 
large woodlot called the "Big Woods". We also were almost constantly 
entertained by Bald Eagles, we counted at least 29 for the day including 
a single thermal with nine birds. The farm manager informed us that 
there are five active nests at Andelot, many of the immatures we saw are 
part of the large population of summering birds that also uses Aberdeen 
Proving Grounds. We thank the owners and manager of Andelot for a 
wonderful outing on their property.

The list:
3 Wood Ducks; 2 Wild Turkeys; 9 Double-crested Cormorants; 10 Great Blue 
Herons; 1 Black Vulture; 30 Turkey Vultures; 19 Osprey; 29 Bald Eagles; 
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk; 9 Red-tailed Hawks; 6 Ring-billed Gulls; 30 
Herring Gulls; 15 Great Black-backed Gulls (almost all of the large 
gulls were on a garbage barge); 1 Caspian Tern; 6 Rock Pigeons; 14 
Mourning Doves; 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 2 Belted Kingfishers; 7 
Red-bellied Woodpeckers; 2 Hairy Woodpeckers; 9 Eastern Wood-Pewees; 1 
Acadian Flycatcher; 2 Eastern Phoebes; 5 Great Crested Flycatchers; 4 
Eastern Kingbirds; 1 White-eyed Vireo; 11 Red-eyed Vireos; 6 Blue Jays; 
4 American Crows; 2 Fish Crows; 2 Horned Larks; 4 Purple Martins; 5 Tree 
Swallows; 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows; 14 Barn Swallows; 6 Carolina 
Chickadees; 3 Tufted Titmice; 3 White-breasted Nuthatches; 4 Carolina 
Wrens; 4 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers; 8 Eastern Bluebirds; 1 Gray-cheeked 
Thrush; 2 Wood Thrushes; 11 American Robins; 2 Gray Catbirds; 6 Northern 
Mockingbirds; 1 Brown Thrasher; 14 European Starlings; 2 Yellow 
Warblers; 3 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers; 3 Yellow-throated Warblers; 
3 Pine Warblers; 1 Prairie Warbler; 1 Blackpoll Warbler; 1 Kentucky 
Warbler; 6 Common Yellowthroats; 1 Canada Warbler; 3 Yellow-breasted 
Chats; 1 Scarlet Tanager; 2 Eastern Towhees; 12 Chipping Sparrows; 7 
Field Sparrows; 3 Grasshopper Sparrows; 2 Song Sparrows; 15 Northern 
Cardinals; 7 Blue Grosbeaks; 27 Indigo Buntings; 4 Bobolinks; 18 
Red-winged Blackbirds; 1 Eastern Meadowlark; 3 Common Grackles; 26 
Brown-headed Cowbirds; 21 Orchard Orioles; 3 Baltimore Orioles; 2 House 
Finches; 7 American Goldfinches; 16 House Sparrows.

That's all for now. Our next trip will be a half-day trip to Tuckahoe 
State Park and Adkins Arboretum on 3 June. We hope to see you there.

Good birding,

Walter Ellison & Nancy Martin

23460 Clarissa Rd
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-9568

Observing Nature is like unwrapping a big pile of presents every time 
you take a walk.